New Tank Syndrome

Why Are My Fish Dying in My New Aquarium?

(The First Tank Guide)

What Is 'New Tank Syndrome?'

New tank syndrome is a generic and all-encompasing explanation for
loss of fish in an aquarium that is under two months old.

There are really a wide number of things that these losses could be
more accurately attributed to, but the fact that many new fish tank
owners encounter these problems has resulted in getting them all
lumped together.

When you first set up your aquarium, the biological filter is not
ready to handle the waste the fish are producing. Getting the
biological filter up-to-speed requires putting the tank through a
process called cycling the aquarium. This
allows naturally occurring and ubiquitous bacteria to populate the
filter media in the aquarium's filter and begin processing the ammonia
produced by the fish into (eventually) relatively harmless nitrate
which you can then remove with your regular, weekly 10-15% water changes.

Until the biological filter can process the fish's waste, the fish
are swimming in it. This is stressful to the fish.

Directly, the elevated ammonia in the water reduces the
availability of oxygen, making it harder for the fish to breathe. It
also can cause a variety of other health problems directly, not the
least of which is blindness. For these reasons, it is important to keep
up with extra water changes while the tank
is still cycling.

Indirectly, the elevated waste levels in the fish tank stresses the
fish, making them more susceptible to disease and making any
harassment they get from other fish or any other stressers they have
to deal with that much worse. For these reasons it is also important
to keep up with the necessary extra water
changes during the cycling period.

In addition to the ammonia
poisoning issues, the fact that a new aquarium owner does not have
experience caring for a fish tank and the fish in it also contributes
to this stress and loss.

New aquarium owners are more likely to make simple mistakes, such
as over feeding the fish, which will contribute
to poor water quality, increasing the waste related problems explained
above, or having the temperature wrong, which increases the general
stress the fish are under.

Watch your feeding, make sure the fish eat everything offered in
under two minutes.

These simple tips should help you avoid unnecessary losses to 'new
tank syndrome' while your new aquarium is cycling.

Can't I Just Add Something to the Tank to Avoid 'New Tank
Syndrome' altogether?

Simply put, no, you can't. There are people that will try to sell
you ammonia removers which will
remove the ammonia, but make the cycling process more
difficult. Others will try to sell you bacteria
boosters to make the tank magically cycle overnight, but these are
highly unreliable.

"I have found [the First Tank Guide] and have read many pages of it. I think it is really good. It is comprehensive and it includes links to point me to another page to see detailed explanations whenever necessary."